Concert Hall Acoustic Design of The Salt Silo, Tvøroyri

Abstract: The Salt Silo in Tvøroyri, The Faroe Islands, is set to be turned the largest concert hall in The Faroe Islands. The Salt Silo is a large old silo with wood and concrete walls, and currently acoustics which are not suitable for musical reproduction. The project leaders require the concert hall to be suitable for both classical and rock music, which poses an interesting acoustical challenge. In this paper I will go through which variables should be known and controlled to be able to acoustically analyze and design a concert hall such as The Salt Silo. To not become too large of a project, the paper will focus on the hall's lateral energy fraction and reverberation time. The paper will also look at the Clarity Index parameter (C80) and note how it is affected by the change of reverberation time. The concert hall will be simulated with Odeon auralization software by Brüel & Kjær, and the paper will present the author's suggestion of how the concert hall should be acoustically designed to optimize the values of the reverberation time and lateral energy fraction. The design objective is to create a hall which is suitable for classical music, but where the acoustics can be varied to be able to house modern rock concerts as well. The paper will present a suggestion as to how The Salt Silo should be transformed from an old silo to a modern concert hall which fulfills the criteria which the project leaders have set on reverberation time and lateral energy fraction.